Puzzle
by tiashew14
Summary: My 'Moments' fanfic spin-off, featuring Shikadai, who is struggling to discover hidden truths about the relationships in his family.
1. Chapter 1 - Puzzle

**Title:** Puzzle. Moments Spin-Off

 **Author:** _tiashew14_

 **Genre:** family plus some romance and humor

 **Pairing:** ShikaTema

 **Raiting:** K.

 **Fandom:** Naruto

 **DC:** the original story belongs to the author. I'm only responsible for my own imagination.

 **Annotation:** My 'Moments' fanfic spin-off, featuring Shikadai, who is struggling to discover hidden truths about the relationships in his family.

 **Author's note:** Alright, since the ideas keep coming in, I decided to continue this one in particular. I don't want to create tons of 'oneshots', so I'm separating this one from the original story. Chapter 1 is just the same as I already posted in the 'Moments', but it never hurts to reread it, hehe.

* * *

Chapter 1: Puzzle

"I'm home."

"Where've you been?!"

"Inojin's."

"Do you even realize what time is it?" His mom was angry. That much Shikadai could tell from her ice-cold glare. Dad wasn't home again. He'll probably come back late at night, as usual.

"It's half past nine."

Sometimes he hated it here. No matter how he looked at it, his family did not seem happy at all. Compared with Inojin's home - always full of warmth, happiness and love - Shikadai's place seemed cold. There were days, when Shikadai didn't want to go home, to hear his dad's complains and mom's scolding. It would be nice to be born in a normal family. Just like Boruto, Shikadai kind of wished for his dad to do some boring job and come home more often. That way even his mom would probably soften up and lecture her kid less.

This particular lecture Shikadai heard many times already. By now he already learned, that if he were to interrupt, leave or complain, it would be ten times worse. Sometimes, he even suspected that his mom can read his mind. The word 'troublesome' even pronounced in his head could bring upon his head a storm heavier than an actual hurricane. At this point, all Shikadai's strength went to hold back that one word. He had to listen.

No matter how troublesome that was.

He saw his mom's eyes narrowing down.

'Oh, crap!' he thought in panic. 'Did she notice?'

His mom sighted.

"Go eat now. And then finish your homework."

The storm avoided him somehow.

"Did that."

"Fine."

To tell the truth, Shikadai didn't want to eat at all. Spending time with Boruto always meant eating hamburgers whenever they feel hungry. Even after all these years Shikadai didn't mind that, since junk food was so much tastier that anything they can eat at home. The only minus was that unlike Hokage's son, he didn't have enough room in his stomach to fit in proper supper afterwards. Which will also mean making his mom angry.

"The food will go cold if you don't eat." There was no hiding it.

"I'm not hungry." Shikadai said standing up from the table.

His mom gave him her favorite look, that usually made him shiver with fear.

"You ok?"

"Y-yeah… I'll go to my room."

He escaped before the storm started.

'Inojin wouldn't probably run away from his mom like that…' he thought falling down on his bed.

Even if trading families would be possible, Inojin would never agree to it. They were a happy family. Unlike his own.

With this thought Shikadai fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes it was already dark outside. The clock showed two in the morning. 'What a drag' he thought, standing up to go to bathroom. On his way Shikadai saw the lights in the kitchen. 'So he did come back tonight after all.' His dad was sitting near the window and smoking.

"Mom will kill you if you do that. And me too for covering you." The boy said.

His dad just laughed.

"Why don't you sleep?"

"Bathroom. You?"

"Your mom kicked me out from the bedroom." He laughed again.

How can he laugh at this?

"Dad." Shikadai went for the question that was bothering him for years now. "Why would you be with someone as troublesome as mom?"

"She IS troublesome, eh?" Dad was still smiling. "Well, that was because your mom was the hardest puzzle I've got to solve."

"People don't marry each other because of that. They marry because they love each other." Shikadai didn't even realize, that he sounded just like his mom right now. "Wasn't your marriage for the purpose of maintaining alliance with Hidden Sand?"

"You're wrong here." Dad put out his cigarette. "I've asked your mom to marry me because I never wanted her to leave."

"What's with that?" Shikadai felt kind of disappointed.

"Let me ask you one thing." His dad moved closer, so their eyes would be on the same level. "Do you love your mom?"

Shikadai didn't answer. It's not that he didn't, but...

"Then, do you hate her?"

Shikadai didn't answer this one too. She was annoying sometimes, but that doesn't mean...

"Ok, now try to imagine, what will happen if your mom is not here."

Shikadai started thinking. If mom wasn't there he would... he would... he would be able to play games as much as he wanted. He would be able to eat junk food all the time. Nobody will scold him when he comes back home late, when he throws his things around, when he doesn't clean his room or doesn't wake up on time. The picture didn't seem tragic at all.

"You don't get it, do you?" His dad laughed and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Sleep."

"Mom will kill you."

"If I gave up every time she promised to kill me, we wouldn't be together."

Shikadai looked at his dad's back.

His parents were weird.

Inojin's family seemed so much more normal.

* * *

"I totally understand ya!" Boruto exclaimed. Out of all people in Shikadai's class he was dissatisfied with his family the most. "I mean, me too! If I could, I would totally trade families with Sarada. Her dad is so cool!"

"Your dad is Hokage, and her dad is a creep." Shikadai's words were as cold as his attitude.

"He's not!" Boruto started to shout louder than Shikadai's mom. "It's just he's always wearing black that..."

"Yeah, yeah..."

He didn't listen.

"Which family would you want to trade for?"

"Inojin's, probably. They always seem happy."

"Hmm... I guess you have a point." Boruto thoughtfully said. "Wanna hang out to play again?"

"Mom will kill me if I do that two days in a row." And that was troublesome. "Wasn't your mom angry at you yesterday?"

Boruto remembered something and twitched as his face went pale.

"Yeah, very angry."

* * *

"I'm home."

There was no reply.

'Huh, nobody's here?' thought Shikadai entering the house. Well, his dad must be at work, but it was unusual for his mom to be out when he comes back from school. 'Groceries, probably.' He went straight to his bedroom. 'I could have totally stayed to play with guys today.' Shikadai thought turning on his game.

He managed to clear five whole levels, before is tummy started to grumble. It was quarter to seven now, but he never heard anyone come in. 'That's strange.' Shikadai thought, looking out from his room.

The house was just as empty as it was couple of hours before, when he came back. The hallways were dark and quiet. Shikadai didn't remember his house to ever look that scary, since his mom was always there. Well, he actually hardly remembered his house without mom at all. It's like she was always there. Sometimes Shikadai would even feel annoyed about that.

But, when he thought about it more carefully, his mom was even scarier than the empty house.

"I'm home." He heard door opening.

The switch went on in the hallway, blinding Shikadai for few seconds.

That was his dad. He came earlier today which was already unusual, the worst thing is that dad was carrying takeout with him. Out of all possibilities the boy could think of…

"Where's mom?" Shikadai said instead of greetings. "Did you have a fight?"

Somehow he remembered the words his dad said at night. Maybe, by that time they've already quarreled and then in the morning after seeing them off mom left…

"No, there was an urgent business in Hidden Sand to attend. She'll be gone for few days." His father seemed very surprised. "Why would you think that?"

"Is that so..." Shikadai didn't reply to the question. 'See, there's a reasonable explanation, there was no need to panic!'

His tummy grumbled again.

"You hungry?" Dad asked.

Shikadai nodded.

"Go heat this up." His father gave him food and went straight to the living room.

'So, if mom's not here, I can...' Shikadai smiled, imagining himself playing games whole night.

He fell asleep an hour later his usual bedtime.

* * *

When Shikadai opened his eyes, is was already bright outside. The alarm didn't go off yet, which meant that he had some more time to sleep. He lifted his head just to look at the clock.

It was noon.

He was supposed to be in school four hours ago.

"Oh, crap!" He left his bed and rushed to his parents' room. His father was sleeping too.

"Dad! Wake up! We're LATE!"

"Temari, just five more minutes..."

"DAD!"

He finally opened his eyes, looked at his son, then at the clock.

"Oh, crap!"

Fifteen more minutes of total chaos and they've finally left the house.

When Shikadai came to school, he was immediately taken to the principal's office. Long lecture and an explanation letter he had to write were far more humiliating than any of his mom's scolding.

His classmates were laughing at him too.

"It's not usual for you to be late." Inojin said smiling. "You couldn't wake up without your mom?"

"Sh-shut up." Sitting through the remaining two classes was a torture.

"Hey, since your mom is not home, how about we play till late today?"

"Oh, great idea! I'm in!" Boruto exclaimed. Whole class was staring at him now.

"Boruto…" Aburame-sensei looked like he's going to lose his cool anytime soon. "You're staying here after classes for cleaning duty."

"No waaaaaay…"

* * *

Not having to listen to a troublesome lecture first thing after entering the house this late in the evening was certainly a new experience for Shikadai. He stood there for a moment staring into a dark hallway. Having nobody to wait for you wasn't actually as refreshing as he thought it would be. Instead it felt kind of lonely. Just like saying something like "I'm home" into the silence of an empty house would be meaningless without reply.

Shikadai turned on the lights. The house was in total mess, just like they've left it in the morning.

'If mom saw this, she'd kill us...' Shikadai thought and started cleaning up.

He gave up, after he realized that he had absolutely no idea where half of the things belonged to. It was already past nine in the evening. Shouldn't be dad home by now? Well, since he was this late for work, staying there till late would be expected.

'I'll wait for him. Just a little.' Decided Shikadai, turning on his game.

Somehow new levels seemed so boring, that he fell asleep.

Shikadai woke up feeling cold. Sleeping at random places around the house was something usual to him. And yet, every time he woke up, he'd be covered with a blanket. Shikadai never remembered waking up in this house to be this cold.

It was half past one.

And nobody was still here.

'How come the house feels so different without mom around?' He asked himself.

Shikadai heard front door opening.

"Sorry, I couldn't leave earlier today..." his dad said breathing heavily. Seems like he ran home from work.

"Welcome home."

"Did you eat?"

"Yeah, at Inojin's."

"That's good. You should go sleep now. I promise to be home early tomorrow."

"Yeah."

* * *

No matter how early his father promised to be home, that's still going to be late. The best choice would be to hang out with his classmates for a time being and then head home in the evening.

That was the best strategy, and yet…

"Sorry, not today." Boruto said shivering a little. "My mom was... super angry yesterday, she said one more day like this and I'm grounded…."

'Hmm... So Boruto is a no too.' Shikadai thought.

Inojin's training with his father today. Asking ChouChou would be just too weird, even though their parents are best friends.

"Don't worry about it then."

"Is your mom still not back?"

"Not yet."

"Must be nice without parents at home. I mean, you can do anything! Play all day, stay out whole night and eat just hamburgers all the time!"

Somehow Boruto's words seemed way too familiar, to the point of deja vu.

"I'll be going then." Shikadai waved him goodbye.

Boruto couldn't possibly understand. Even Shikadai himself finally got it only after these couple of days. Being home alone didn't feel good at all!

In the end he'll have to wait for his dad in that empty house again. Since playing games was way too boring there now, Shikadai started to think that he should cook dinner tonight.

'That doesn't sound too bad.' The boy concluded. 'Maybe this way our house won't be this cold anymore.'

With this thought he rushed home.

* * *

It wasn't Shikadai's first time cooking. He spent a lot of time helping out his mom in the kitchen after all. In the end, mixing right ingredients wasn't that hard, so he could cook quite a few dishes by himself. In theory, of course. It was his first time in the kitchen on his own without mom's supervision.

It wasn't as easy as he thought. Although the pieces he cut weren't as beautiful and whole room ended up dirty, he didn't mess up.

Cleaning turned out to be harder.

And his mom's cooking tasted so much better.

When Shikadai finally finished, it was half past eight. And his dad hasn't come back home yet.

Waiting was the worst. Does it always feel this lonely waiting for someone? Shikadai hated every last minute of it. But then again it actually felt, as if the time itself was mocking him by slowing its flow drastically. It wasn't rare for his dad to be late even after he promised to come earlier. In fact, he was late every time he promised that. And every time mom would still wait for him to return just like this. 'Does she feel this lonely too?' Shikadai wondered still staring at the clock. 'Does she feel this way every day?' This couldn't be right, since most of the time Shikadai was here too. But then again, what about those days when Shikadai himself stayed out till late? Right now the lectures he had to listen after coming home late kind of made sense to him.

Shikadai even felt like scolding his dad himself.

He touched the bowl prepared for his father.

It was cold.

But no matter how long she's waiting for the both of them, the food is always warm.

When clock showed nine in the evening Shikadai felt sudden stinging in his eyes.

Waiting home alone wasn't fun at all.

Not at all what he had imagined.

"Sorry, Shikadai." The boy never heard his dad coming back. "I know I promised, but there was this this we had to figure out right away..."

"Yeah."

Dad sat down the table across from his son.

"So you get it now, huh?"

"Yeah.

* * *

Clock showed half past ten.

They were late again.

It wasn't even funny anymore. Maybe, he should just sleep then? What's the point going to school now? After these couple of days Shikadai realized he won't be able to wake up on time, no matter how many alarms he'll set.

Hearing somebody opening front door made him jump up on his bed. Can it be...

Expression on his dad's face, when they've met in the hallway, was the mirror image of Shikadai's.

She saw them first.

"I'm home." She said with her usual serious face.

"Mom!"

Shikadai was probably even more surprised than his mom, when he suddenly rushed to hug her.

"What's wrong, Shikadai?"

"Mom, no matter how mad you are at us, please, promise you would never leave us!"

"Why so sudden..."

"If you leave, we'll die!" He exclaimed. "I'll be expelled from the Academy, and dad will lose his job, because we will never be there on time! We won't be able to make any money this way and die!" The serious expression on his face was just like his mom's.

"Pfft." He heard. His mother started laughing.

Shikadai looked back at his dad.

"Of course I won't leave you, silly." His mom said still laughing.

She was smiling happily, when she hugged her son back.

"Wait..." her voice suddenly became cold. "Why exactly both of you are still here?"

"You've heard the kid. That's exactly why." His dad was the one laughing now.

When ten minutes later both Nara men were thrown out of the house, they were still smiling happily.

* * *

"Hey, let's play?.." Boruto approached as soon as the last bell rang.

"Sorry, not today!" Shikadai stormed out from the classroom. "Gotta go home!"

For once he actually found himself running. When he opened the front door, the same house that he once used to call 'cold' was warm again. The lights were on, the mess was gone, and he could hear his mom cleaning the living room.

Shikadai took a deep breath, put on his usual indifferent face and called out:

"I'm home."

And for the first time in these few days, he actually heard the reply:

"Welcome back." Nothing really changed, not in his mom's voice. "You're early today."

"I'll be in my room."

When the door closed behind his back, Shikadai had a broad smile on his face.

* * *

"So, do you still think your mom is scary?" His dad asked with a grin. Even he was home early today. If Shikadai were to guess, Lord Hokage just threw the responsibility of scolding father on his mom. But even while listening to troublesome lecture he still seemed happy.

"Kind of."

"Hmmm, alright, I teach you one little secret about her." He moved closer so his son could hear him whispering. "You see, she's just like your uncle Gaara. They both have zero resistance for affection."

"What does that mean?"

"Try this: go to the kitchen, hug her and say you've missed her."

"Huh?"

"Just do it. You'll see what I mean."

'This is kind of troublesome...' he thought, but still stood up. It wasn't that he hated this idea, it was just kind of embarrassing. But if dad is completely serious, then it must be worth is. After all, Shikadai started to feel curious himself.

"Mom?"

"Mm, what is it?" She turned around. The same strict look on her face.

'This is going to be hard.' Shikadai thought to himself trying not to back off. If dad did that, then he should be able to do it too.

Shikadai stepped forward and hugged his mom.

"Nothing... I've just... kind of... missed you..."

She was surprised for few seconds, but then startled expression on her face was replaced by a gentle smile. Shikadai's heart skipped a beat when he realized, that he hasn't seen that smile of hers for a long time. 'Why is that?' he thought, trying to remember. He used to see it a lot when he was a kid. 'What had changed since then?' he never asked himself that question before. But the answer appeared to be very simple. He grew up. Started to come home late and hang out with his friends all the time. Is it what they call 'rebellious stage?'

"What's with that?" his mom laughed. "Go back, dinner will be ready soon."

She was still smiling when he left the kitchen. But seeing her like that again made this place whole lot warmer.

"So?" Dad was waiting for him.

"I'm... not sure anymore."

He laughed.

"Hey, dad. How do you know this?" Shikadai asked.

"I told you, she was the hardest puzzle I got to solve." He sounded kind of proud of himself. "One warning, though. That won't work when she's angry."

"Was it that bad?" Shikadai tried to imagine this scene.

"Haha..." dad forced himself to smile. "But…" he said after a pause. "It might actually work for you, after all."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, that's because…" dad smiled again, looking at his shocked son. "You make her happier than I ever could. After all, when you were born, she was smiling all the time."

"That's not true." They never heard her coming. "It was you who gave me a baby."

His parents were looking each other in the eyes, not a single word was said. While his mom still has her usual serious face on, his dad looked completely astonished. That was the moment when Shikadai figured it out. It didn't matter, what kind of faces they usually show, or what kind of words they say. Because it never mattered to them, what was on the outside. Appearances are deceiving, and so were the words. The happy family act was never played here, but if Shikadai would interpret his mom's words, they would probably mean "It was you, who made me happy."

His father smiled.

'A puzzle, huh?' Shikadai thought to himself looking at his parents. Maybe, that actually wasn't the worst way to think about it. If he were to equate in his mind any person as a riddle and try to solve it, that would make it a lot easier to pick even the hidden signs. Shikadai's initial theory was crumbling into pieces. For some days now he had this tiniest hunch, that there was a lot more to his family's relationship than he ever imagined. And that was worth investigating. 'So, if dad's puzzle was mom, then for me it would be the both of them!' he decided.

The rest of the dinner went on in silence.

As soon as it was over, Shikadai left to his room.

The first step would be to spy on them.

He's never moved this quietly during the practice in school.

Shikadai felt himself as an actual ninja, sneaking around the house, until he heard his parents' voices.

"Let me go, Shikamaru."

"Nah."

"You're in the way."

"So?"

"I'll get angry."

"No, you won't."

"Shikamaru!"

It was Shikadai's first time seeing his parents actually act like Inojin's. 'So that's how it is…' he thought, realizing that all this time he himself chose not to see any of this.

"How I'm supposed to let you go when you suddenly say something like that." His dad stubbornly said, hugging mom from behind.

"You have problems with that?" she really tried to sound angry.

"Not a single one."

She sighted and gave a faint smile.

"I still can't believe you couldn't manage on your own these couple of days." Teasing notes in Shikadai's mom voice were something new to the boy as well. "Are you really cut out to be Hokage's advisor?"

"You've heard the kid." Dad was smiling. "We need you here."

She laughed.

"Come on, let me go already." She tried to break free. "I have to clean this up..."

"It'll wait." Dad never let go of her. "Hey, it's been a long time since you've been to Hidden Sand."

She turned around to look at hm.

"Kind of."

"I've missed you, Temari." Same words he made Shikadai say, but this time accompanied with a kiss to a forehead.

She probably knew what this all was about. There was no way, that Shikadai's mind-reading mom won't figure this out. And yet, her reaction was still the same. She couldn't hold back a broad smile.

"What's with you two today?"

"Hmm, I wonder." His dad was smiling too.

Shikadai quietly returned to his room. Pieces of his own puzzle started coming together. And somehow those were the exact same ones missing from the picture of his world. Slowly it started to make sense to him that quite a few pieces were placed wrong from the very beginning, that's why the picture never made any sense to him. If he was to replace duty with love, appearance with happiness, and coldness with warmth, the picture of his family would be complete.

Although, the perfect family did sound nice to Shikadai, but in the end his 'perfect' wasn't Inojin's home after all. No matter how ideal his family seemed, no matter how much love his parents show to each other, that wasn't all to it. As Shikadai saw his parents just now, he realized just how wrong he was about them. In the end, surface didn't matter at all, when they would look this happy when nobody's around.

Even though it wasn't obvious from the beginning, but his family was perfect after all.

And he actually preferred it this way.

Now it's definitely

The End

* * *

 **Author's note:** Now it's definitely the end. I kind of enjoy writing my stories in the same format as the manga itself, haha. But this has to be the end… Although I'm saying this now, my mind is still occupied with some story pieces that I might end up putting together, haha.

'Moments' was a good run. I probably enjoyed writing it too much. This particular extra chapter I originally planned as an epilogue, but then again couldn't pick a single idea to write about, so i gave it up. But in the end, I managed to finish it in time. Heartbreaking and heart-warming at the same time. Don't we all went through that stage as teens? The other family better that yours is just classic one. Thinking about that time makes me feel like an old lady xDD.

Anyways, I found it surprising that after all this years of writing romantic stories (mostly in my native language on different resources) I still go all shy while writing lovers' dialogues and interactions. What the hell is wrong with me.

And so, with my final words here I want to express my gratitude who was with me till the end. I'll miss posting everyday, I really would. Since it's my first time writing in English, I'm actually thankful to everyone, who went through even one line of this story. All of you woke up one ambition of mine, that I almost gave up upon. So yeah, thank you everyone! I'm glad I got the chance to meet you all. I'll definitely feel a bit lonely afterwards, haha.

That would be all! Bye-bye!


	2. Chapter 2 - Anniversary

Chapter 2: Anniversary

"Hey, Shikadai, can I stay over at your place tonight?" Inojin whispered from the back row.

Shikadai opened his eyes. He nearly passed out during the lecture again.

"Yeah, sure. But why?"

"It's my parents' anniversary today, so…" Inojin didn't raise his voice, but somehow he was still heard.

"Anniversary?" ChouChou on the other hand didn't even try to whisper. If Shikadai would take a guess, he'd say that girls have special kind of sense for a romantic talk. "What can be better than celebrating years of your undying love together?" Her eyes were glittering with some sort of weird excitement. "So which anniversary is it? First date? First kiss? First ti..." She couldn't finish the last one. Sarada covered ChouChou's mouth before plump girl said something unnecessary.

"Shush!" Uchiha girl was blushing.

"Sarada, you're such a child." ChouChou said. Sometimes she sounded like she wasn't same age with everyone in the class. "It's just a part of romance, you know?"

"It's the wedding." Inojin replied as if he didn't notice the last part at all. "Today my dad pretended that he forgot about it, and it drove my mom crazy. So he has to make up for it now."

"Hmmm... my dad never remembers any anniversaries." Even Boruto woke up for this conversation. "Before he became Hokage, mom would leave him hints around the house, and yet he'd still go through the whole day without noticing anything…"

"That's the worst!" ChouChou stood up with the fire raging in her eyes. It was rare to see her agitated about anything at all. Except for food, maybe. "The beauty of relationships after the marriage lies in anniversaries! Remembering every little thing about the time you've spent together, commemorating it for years to relive those moments!" The whole class was staring at her right now. "My papa remembers everything! Even mama doesn't know the exact days when she cooked something special for him, or they've tried new style of food, or even when they've went out to eat! Papa is amazing! Isn't it the same for you, Sarada?"

"Well, Papa sends letters." Uchiha daughter averted her eyes. "Sometimes."

"You guys..." No one even noticed when he came closer. Usually calm, now their teacher didn't even try to hide his fury. "Are you aware that you're in the middle of the class?"

The cold rage in his voice reminded Shikadai of his mom, and a mere thought about her made him completely awake. During all this anniversary talk he realized one important detail he never noticed before. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't remember anything about his own parents. He never even heard the word "anniversary" being said inside their house. Was it that they've never cared about it, or maybe… he'd never paid any attention before. Surely, among all his classmates only Mitsuki had nothing to say, but his family situation was too weird even for Shikadai. Everyone seems to care so much about this, so why the Nara son was the only one left out?

'There must be more to it,' he thought, not even trying to listen to the Aburame-sensei's scolding. 'I must investigate!'

Who knows, maybe after this he'll be closer to solving his puzzle.

* * *

"...and now our house is buried in flowers and stuffed animals." Inojin said as if it was nothing special at all. "Later mom and dad are going to the restaurant in some fancy resort for the whole night."

"Hmmm..." Shikadai hardly listened. His friend was bragging this whole time, and it already started to be annoying. Inojin wasn't this excited last year for sure. But it wasn't him whose reaction The Nara son wanted to observe - Shikadai was looking at his mother instead. The whole anniversary talk didn't seem to bother her at all. It was too soon to judge though. His parents were extra careful about keeping secrets. Unraveling this part of the puzzle won't be easy as well.

For now he just have to go with the logical flow.

"Mom, when is your anniversary?" Shikadai asked, before his friend started talking again. Somehow, even though his speech was interrupted, Inojin didn't seem to mind it. He was curious as well.

"Three months from now." She replied in her usual tone, without any trace of emotions. Which was rather strange, compared to the reaction of those in Shikadai's class.

But she didn't seem to notice any ulterior motive behind him asking. That was good.

"What are you going to do for it?" he asked again. This one might raise some suspicions, but now even Inojin was staring at Shikadai's mom waiting for an answer. Anyone could notice his obsession with this anniversary topic. Maybe, it can avert her attention from Shikadai himself, who'd usually find this kind of talk too troublesome to even think about.

"Nothing, I guess…" She seemed a bit startled. It must be unusual to see the two oof them this passionate about anything but games. "Your dad will probably be working till late again." Her attitude won't crumble even under this much pressure though. "I doubt he even remembers."

Disappointment was written all over Inojin's face. Someone rather unfamiliar with how relationships in Shikadai's family work will expect a drama scene after those words. But the boy himself wasn't surprised at all. This is just how it always was, since his dad hardly has any time to celebrate birthdays or other holidays together. Sometimes he wasn't there for days, just like tonight.

"Eh?" Inojin gave his friend completely discouraged look. "My dad only pretended to forget, and mom almost killed him…"

He couldn't have missed the fact that Shikadai was the only one who didn't say anything about the anniversaries in the class. And judging from his face he started to realize why. Actually, Shikadai was now thinking about it too. The simplest answer to his question, why he'd never heard anniversary talk around the house, would be that it was never celebrated. And for someone like Inojin it was almost impossible to believe. Shikadai on the other hand wasn't satisfied with this answer at all. 'This can't be all to it.' He thought.

"What's the big deal, anyway?" expression on Shikadai's mom face remained completely blank.

"But… years of undying love…" Inojin's voice was weak. "The time together… relive the moments… commemorating… the beauty of relationship after wedding…" he actually quoted ChouChou.

"A wedding, huh?" the look on her face was kind of distant for a moment. And if Shikadai didn't knew his mom at all, he'd likely miss this tiny bit of irritation. "It wasn't all bad, but… I'd rather not."

The rest of the dinner went on in silence. Inojin was still shocked to the very core of his entire human being, that something this much out of ordinary even existed. Shikadai wasn't talking as well. He was too deep in his thoughts for this matter. Even though he knew that his family was just like that from the very beginning, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. It was true then, there were no anniversaries to begin with, for the first time the simplest answer was actually the right one. There was no mystery, and that outcome seemed rather boring.

"Hey, Shikadai..." Inojin whisper brought the Nara boy back to reality. "Did your dad marry your mom because it was too troublesome to look for somebody else?"

'Idiot! You can't say that in front of her! She can hear thoughts, let alone whispers!' He wanted to shout before the storm breaks out in their dining room. But somehow, instead of turning furious, his mom just chuckled.

"Deja vu?" She mumbled to herself and chuckled again.*

* * *

As the date drew near, Shikadai still couldn't leave the whole anniversary thing alone. No matter how many times he would tell himself, that it's too troublesome, no one cares about it, and it's just the way his family is, the thoughts kept coming back. It was bugging him day and night, even though his classmates already stopped talking about it. The days would go on just like usual, with the anniversary word spinning in Shikadai's mind.

'It's tomorrow.' He thought staring at the calendar. There was no mark, as if that day wasn't important at all.

'Did I even guess it right? Maybe it's already passed...' that would be the least troublesome outcome. And truth to be told the most preferable one, after forgetting this whole thing, which he failed to do three months ago. Coming this far, he had to at least investigate it properly. 'How can I make sure of it? I remember I saw their wedding photo somewhere around the house...'

The timing was perfect. Dad is working, mom went out for groceries. Nothing would be in his way of discovering hidden truths of his parents now.

There are few common places to keep family pictures, and they're usually the same for any family. Shikadai's wasn't an exception on this point. However, he knew too well the pictures hanging in the living room or the kitchen. They mostly included himself with different family members and at different age. And yet, he clearly remembered seeing a wedding picture before. So there are two places left: the attic and his parents' bedroom. The first one will take too much time, he won't be able to find anything before mom comes back. Plus, she'll definitely notice the dust. That leaves the bedroom.

Shikadai heard his heart pounding when he reached to the door handle, as if he was about to make a discovery of a century.

The pictures here were different.

His dad as a genin with his old three men team and teacher. His mom and both of her brothers on a day uncle Gaara became Kazekage. Seeing young versions of his parents was a bit strange for Shikadai. Couple more photos of deceased family members and a wedding picture. It was there, right in the middle.

Shikadai reached for it. Years ago he'd say that it was an ordinary wedding picture. Nothing different from those he saw in his classmates' houses. But now the boy noticed something totally new. It was definitely someone's poor attempt to combine the traditions of both the Leaf and Sand in one ceremony, which turned the happy day into a complete disaster. That much Shikadai could tell from his parents' faces. Although at a first glance they seemed happy, but he could read in his dad's eyes just how troublesome he finds all this, when the look on his mom's face gave Shikadai shivers. He knew all too well this smile telling something like "Just say one more word about those stupid traditions and I'll kill you slowly and painfully without ruining this pure white dress". Which was definitely beautiful, but totally out of mom's style. Shikadai remembered her look when Inojin mentioned memories of that day. Well, with all the politics involved, there's a fine chance that the wedding was completely ruined by it.

He flipped the picture frame.

'So, it is tomorrow.' Shikadai felt kind of happy that he guessed it right.

"What are you doing here?" Shikadai almost jumped up, when he heard his mom's voice. She never makes any sound to the point that sometimes it was almost creepy.

"Nothing..." he returned the picture to its original place. "Is dad coming home today?"

"He won't be here for couple of days."

It was always like this. Nothing new. But even if his parents were both ok with this, for some reason this time Shikadai couldn't let it go.

"Mom," he said still looking at that picture. "Let's go out somewhere tomorrow."

Shikadai didn't have any idea of where to go or what to do. But it didn't matter at all. He'll come up with a plan later.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Her facial expression didn't change at all.

"Yeah."

"A date, huh?.." His mom suddenly smiled teasingly. "But don't tell your dad about it, ok?"

Shikadai nodded.

* * *

It was actually harder, than Shikadai thought. Being just a teenager with no interest of romantic relationship the date preparations didn't go as well as he expected. The research proved to be useless, as the articles he could find mainly targeted inexperienced teenage girls who'd tremble with excitement after hearing words like "love", "romance" and "relationship". Something too far from what he needed. The best solution would be to ask someone, but the only person in his class who was into those kind of things – ChouChou – would make a huge deal out of it and probably create a scene. Something Shikadai would like to avoid at all costs.

Thinking, as well as researching, led him nowhere. He was running out of time, and no idea what to do. Even walking around the Hidden Leaf village hardly helped at all. There were just too many shops around to concentrate on one single idea. Everything was way too misleading at this point. Like that bakery shop that is open for couples only, or this coffee shop that is, according to the article Shikadai's read, is the best destination for a date, or… a flower shop down the street.

'That's it!' he thought, changing his direction. 'There is someone who can help!'

"Welcome, how may I help you?" Inojin's mom looked as cheerful as usual. "Oh, this is an unusual customer. You need something?" You could almost see flowers flying around her as she spoke. And it had nothing to do with the shop itself.

"It's my parents' anniversary today." Shikadai said. "I need flowers."

"Oh~" mentioning anniversary got her just as enthusiastic as ChouChou was before. "Did your dad asked you to? Are they going out on a date today?"

"No. Dad is working today. It's just me and mom." Now that he thought about it, his mom only said not to tell his dad. Could it be that there was a hidden motive behind? Shikadai would bet his newest game that there was. "But it is a date."

The boy saw the flowers disappear. The aura around Inojin's mom changed in an instant, as she was trying really hard not to let her anger show itself.

"Is that so? Sure, let's pick something nice." As she started working on the flowers, Shikadai heard her mumbling something like: "I swear to God, I'll kill this idiot myself..."

'So it is a sensitive matter after all.' Shikadai almost didn't believe Inojin, that his mom could go crazy about it. Just like his friend couldn't believe the way Shikadai's parents are. Suddenly the boy realized, that their families indeed were polar opposites. And if only somewhere along the road his dad would end up with Inojin's mom, this couple would break up with the first forgotten anniversary. Or even earlier.

"Shikadai," Inojin mother's voice sounded somewhat cold now. "Do you have any ideas for the date?"

"Actually, no."

"You know, there would be a festival in the shrine tonight. You should go there." There was something evil in her smile now. "I mean, everyone will be there."

"Sounds great."

That sudden change of attitude was definitely strange, but somehow Shikadai felt that everything is actually going according to plan. A plan that was decided long before he came here, or even came up with the idea of spending this anniversary together with mom. Or rather… it was that precise moment, when he did. And ever since then he's been following it without even realizing. Seeing the same thing happening to auntie Ino, revealed the real meaning behind his mother's teasing smile. So she actually came up with this scheme in those couple of seconds and put it into action without saying a word.

For everything to work out this well it was kind of amazing.

Knowing about the plan might have made him back off, but…

"Here you go."

"Thanks, auntie Ino!"

Playing along would be so much more fun.

* * *

"So, where are we going today?" Shikadai hardly saw his mom in this kind of mood before. As if she genuinely was having fun.

"Shrine." He said. "Auntie Ino said everyone will be there."

"Sounds nice." She smiled. Her disguise was as perfect as usual. No one would ever think that something was up. But still, for her to go this far…

There has to be something off about this story.

"Mom, you really not care about anniversary?"

"Yeah."

"So what is this all about?"

"Hmm..." she thought for few seconds. "Don't you think it would be fun?" the broad smile on her face didn't go well together with a sinister plan.

Shikadai definitely never saw his mom like that.

"Yeah."

"Then there should be no problem." His mom smiled. "Oh, by the way."

She stretched her hand to him.

"What is that for?"

"Well, couples on a date should hold hands. Obviously."

Shikadai hesitated. He hadn't held his mom's hand ever since he was still the kid, and now it was kind of embarrassing. Especially seeing everyone from school like this. But the plan is the plan. There's no backing off now. It'll look more convincing this way.

"Alright."

"Let's go then."

Inojin's mom words were hardly wrong. Everyone definitely was there, as if whole population of Hidden Leaf was gathered in the shrine tonight.

"Hey, Shikadai!" The boy heard familiar voice shouting. Of course Boruto will come too. "Let's go play! I heard they have special Kagemasa stalls in here!"

"Boruto! Don't run away!" His mom with little sister came few seconds later. "Good evening."

"Can't do." Shikadai said totally coping his mom's blunt manner. "We're on a date today."

"Huh?" Boruto was living embodiment of the word 'confused'.

"Is that so?" Boruto's mom chuckled. "That's so sweet."

"That's what he says." Shikadai's mom laughed too. "Since my husband is too busy tonight."

The boy saw those words resonating with Boruto's mom. It was all written on her face. The only person in the whole Leaf who was busier than Hokage's advisor, was Hokage himself.

"Plus, Boruto, don't you have a date of your own?" Shikadai saw just how much Himawari's eyes started to glow every time he said the 'date' word.

"Where?"

"Her." He pointed at the youngest member of the Uzumaki family.

"Yay! Date with oniichan! Date with oniichan!" Himawari grabbed her brother's arm and dragged him somewhere into the crowd. Their mom followed straight after.

This year's festival was amazing. Not that Shikadai went there the last year. He didn't even plan to come this time - he'd prefer playing games instead. The boy never enjoyed crowds, and staying home would be far less troublesome. But this time he once again felt himself like a little child eating those delicious snacks and competing with others for some cheap toys.

"Having a kid must be so nice..." sighted a lady in charge of shooting target stall. "I wish I could just fall in love with something other than the weaponry..."

"You might regret saying that one, Ten Ten." Shikadai's mom chuckled. "They can be really troublesome sometimes."

"It's easy for you to say... you have a kid and a husband..." the lady sighted again. "Where is he by the way?"

"At the office. Working. I have a date with a little one today."

"A date?"

"Cuz it's their anniversary today." Shikadai said watching the lady's face change. Just like it was with Inojin's and Boruto's moms.

"I get what you mean now." She threw wooden kunai right in a belly of a purple rabbit. "It is troublesome."

"D...A...T...E?" Shikadai heard another familiar voice right behind him. The only thing that could distract ChouChou from food was romance. Her eyes were glowing as she approached with about ten different snacks in her hands. "A forgotten anniversary? It's just as tragic as the last bag of chips left on a shelf! The one expired and thrown away!" She managed to finish just about half of the stuff she was holding while saying that. "And then there would be this young hero to save them! Ah~ this story is way too beautiful. Good job, Shikadai! You might just be more of man than everyone else in our class..."

The boy himself didn't understand anything of what she just said. But it seems that the girl never noticed his confusion - she was still talking nonsense about love, chips and heroes. It was some special skill of hers to drift away from reality just like that.

* * *

"Seriously, Temari?" Karui came just in time for her daughter's emotional speech. "Never expected you of all people to care about anniversaries."

"I don't." Temari smiled. Was it that the two of them were foreigners here, but she always felt it easier to talk to her than to any of the Leaf girls. "But I thought it might be fun to see him getting jealous once in a while."

Karui turned around to look at her husband emptying another snack stall. For her too. It was always only her.

"I get you. I totally get you!" She exclaimed. "I'm so with you on this one, girl!"

The rumored Kagemasa stall was located almost in the end. Kids from all Leaf gathered there watching their hero performing some lame jutsu. If he would appear any time around Temari's childhood, he'd get beaten up by the academy students, probably.

"Temari-san," Uchiha wife waver her hand. "What's with all this date rumor?"

"That was his idea." Shikadai was now among other kids watching performance. Date or not, it would definitely be not fair to strip the boy of all the fun. "To make up for his dad, most likely."

"Why?" Well, no matter how busy things are in Hokage's office, Sakura still was the one who would see her husband the least.

"Kids got agitated about anniversaries some time ago..." Temari replied laughing. "So Shikadai couldn't let go of the fact that his dad kind of forgot about... let's see... last ten of them." She omitted the part where she'd realize this fact weeks later.

Those magical words worked again. 'Girls from the Leaf really care too much about those insignificant details, huh?' Temari thought, watching Sakura fight her inner self. Among all of them, she was definitely the angriest one.

"He didn't send the letter." Was Temari's guess.

"Not even a week later, like the last year." No, she wasn't just angry. Uchiha wife was furious.

* * *

It's always only after the nightfall that the most interesting part begins. That's probably why the kids are not allowed to stay long enough to participate. It was only during those festivals that it would be otherwise. The best part for kids to enjoy had to be after the dark. After all, there would be no point in firing fireworks in the middle of the day. That was the magic of festival nights, and a sole irreplaceable reason for children to be up till this late.

Kagemasa show was be the last one before the fireworks start. The two best parts had to be left till the very end. The show would come finish, leaving the kids mesmerized and excited; they'd join their families still bragging about the gifts they've received and Kagemasa's new techniques. It would be that very moment when the first fiery flower will bloom in the sky. Bright red, just like the symbol of this country. Few more moments and it'll fade away, just for another couple of colorful flowers to blossom.

Shikadai watched them fade and appear again. The sight, that seemed almost magical, brought up an unsettling feeling somewhere deep inside of him. Everything was right, and yet…

"Mom, is it really ok that the dad is not here?" he asked.

The colors blooming in the sky were reflected on her face with totally new shades. She couldn't be happy, she wasn't supposed to be. And yet Shikadai's mom smiled.

"Of course it is." She pressed a tip of his nose as if it was a doorbell button. "I have a perfectly grown man right here, after all."

For a moment the boy hoped that bright red color in the sky will hide away the blush on his face.

* * *

Shikamaru's day was boring. The paperwork kept coming, making him regret taking this job in a first place. The sun has already disappeared from the sky, it was mere half an hour left before the nightfall. Even after two whole days and a night spent in the office the amount of work didn't seem to end. Not even close to it. The perspective of spending another night in the office sounded way too depressing. This time of the year was always the busiest one, and by all means the least favorite one for Shikamaru.

For a while now he found himself staring at the shadows on the ceiling. Feeling this much pressure all of sudden he couldn't help but to slack off. The amount of work was devastating, and it was about the time he'd return to it, but…

What was the point if he still won't make it home tonight?

More than anything else in the world he'd like to hear Temari's scolding right now.

Because all of his willpower would not be enough at this point.

Someone knocked on the door.

So it was actually a good thing that he wasn't working right now.

"Come in."

The door opened.

"Hey."

He'd hope to see another golden haired woman at her place, but for now she was enough to create a reasonable excuse for him not to work.

"What are you doing here, Ino?"

"Came to pick my husband up." The old teammate smiled. "There's a festival at the shrine today."

Must be nice to just casually spend time with the family.

"So, what are you doing HERE?"

He certainly didn't like the way she was smiling now.

"I wanted to ask." Ino came closer. "Shikamaru, do you know what day is it today?"

It took him some time to remember something so basic.

"Wednesday."

Now she didn't even try to hide how irritated she was. Probably, that wasn't what she meant.

"Shikamaru, are a complete idiot, or what?" She crossed arms on her chest. "Try to remember any important date around this time?"

He started thinking again. Well, there was another exam coming up, and the Kage meeting... but Ino shouldn't know any of this. Then it's not related to work. Something personal? Well, no birthdays were to come up for weeks. Another important holiday? Not that he could remember of. And yet it has to be something very obvious, since Ino already started to lose tiny bits of patience left.

She sighted.

"Tell me, do you remember the day you got married?"

"Of course." It was definitely in the middle of summer. That was the result of a death match between the elders of two villages. Was it done on purpose that in the end it happened to be the least convenient time in a year, Shikamaru wondered up till now. It was very hot, right in a middle of the festival season, and the Hokage office was overloaded with paperwork. Just like now...

"Oh, crap!" Somehow he got the feeling that it wasn't his first anniversary he forgot about. Did they even celebrate one before? Honestly, he couldn't remember.

"There you go." Now Ino seemed satisfied. "I'm leaving now."

"Huh?"

"I only came by to make you feel guilty."

That he was. Ino made sure of it. And judging from her behavior it certainly seemed like a big deal to her. Otherwise, she wouldn't come here to gloat in the first place. That would be the most predictable reaction, that majority of the girls would show at this point. Ino is a great example of that. But since "the majority" wasn't the case, he could hardly predict a possible outcome. With Temari in question anything could happen.

"Bye!" Ino already opened door.

"Wait!" Shikamaru stood up.

He knew that he won't be able to figure it out. Not right now.

"Hm?" Ino turned around.

Just one hint would be enough.

"Have you seen Temari today?"

He's never seen expression like that on Ino's face before.

"Oh, yeah." Her voice was sweeter than honey now. "She's having a date tonight."

She left before he managed to say anything.

"Huh?" He fell back on his chair still staring at the closed door. For couple of minutes he tried to analyze her words and somehow find a logical explanation. However, the only thought his brain was capable of, was: 'What the hell?!'

* * *

"Hey, Naruto..."

"What?.." Hokage looked even less alive than Shikamaru did few minutes ago.

"It doesn't seem efficient at all." The mountain of papers didn't reduce no matter how much time they've spent working on it. "Maybe, we need a break."

"I guess, you're right..." Naruto fell face down on the pile of documents.

Dealing with papers was probably not at all what he had in mind, when he aimed to become Hokage.

"Say, Naruto..." The words Ino said were still budging Shikamaru. "Does Hinata get angry when you forget about anniversaries?"

"Ah!" Naruto jumped up. Shikamaru literally could see Hokage's brain working excessively as the guy tried to calculate something. Probably the date of their last anniversary. When the result came out, he looked completely defeated. "I'll have to think of something next time I go home..." he looked at the papers around and added: "If I go home."

Somehow, the mood got even more depressing than it was before.

"Why do you ask?" Hokage tried to break awkward silence. "When is your anniversary?"

"Kind of... today."

Now it got even more awkward.

"You should go then." Hokage said staring out of the window. It was already dark. "Girls are crazy about this stuff, you know."

"What about you?"

"Me..." Painful expression came across Naruto's face as he looked at the papers again.

"Take a break. You won't be able to work in that condition." Shikamaru said. No matter how he looked at it, only him having a night off was not fair. "Everyone is on the festival tonight..."

"Yeah, I guess you're right...

It was perfectly normal to have a short time off once in a while…

* * *

The fresh air helped Shikamaru cleat up his mind. Now thinking about Ino's words again, there was a fine chance that she said those things out of some kind of weird revenge. They didn't make any sense at all to him, and there was no way in hell that they were true. Even though he knew that perfectly well, he still found himself running through the crowd, as if his life depended on making it in time.

"Shikamaru?" A familiar voice called out to him. "What are you doing here?"

Hinata sure looked surprised. To crush into the whole Uzumaki family, minus Hokage, of all people here was rather unexpected.

"Taking a break." He shouldn't make at least her angry, when Naruto comes here. "Have you seen Temari?"

He looked around. However, there were no familiar faces anywhere near, except for both of Naruto's kids, wearing the masks of that new crappy superhero everyone talks about now. It was almost time for the fireworks and his chances of making it before were rather slim.

"Yeah, they should be somewhere over there."

"Thanks." Shikamaru said and started making his way to that direction.

'Wait, did she say "they"?' He suddenly realized. As he passed by the kids, he heard Himawari singing a simple song that contained just one word repeated many times: "Date, date, date, date~".

'Maybe, it's just my imagination.' Shikamaru decided, trying not to overthink at this point.

"Isn't it Shikamaru?" Another female voice called out to him. And it was still the wrong one. "Looking for someone?"

"Yeah. Ten Ten, have you seen my wife?"

"Fufu~ you might have got a competition now, you know that?" She enjoyed the frustration on his face. "They should be over there."

'What the hell?' He thought again, making his way forward. The first fireworks were already fired.

"Careful, man." Red haired woman with dark skin turned around. "Watch where you're going."

"Sorry, Karui." He still didn't feel comfortable around her even after all this time that she was married to his best friend.

"Looking for Temari?"

"Yeah, have seen…"

"Oh, I saw! It was so romantic!" A plump girl popped out in front of him before her mom said anything. "He was just like a hero for a lonely maiden's heart! A meeting under the stars, as if it was destined by gods! A perfect guy to make your heart flutter! Who'll fight the circumstances just to be together. It was fate! The moment you see them holding hands, you know it! Ah~ I wish to meet someone just like that..."

"Huh?"

"You've heard her." Karui nodded with absolutely blank expression.

"Huh?!" Shikamaru dealt with the shock and turned to the only sane person here. "Chouji?"

"Sorry, I didn't see anyone." He laughed. "I was eating."

"Go that way." Karui smirked. "Maybe you can make it."

"Ok." At this point he didn't know what to think anymore. He already regretted asking in a first place.

When Shikamaru saw Sakura in the crowd, he nearly felt like running away. Unfortunately, she noticed him before he managed to do that.

"Over there," she said instead of a greeting. "He's a fine young man. I almost envy."

He didn't even stop to think about it. The fireworks will be over soon, but before that...

Just one more effort and he saw them.

"Huh, Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" Temari didn't look surprised at all. If she's here, then so is...

"Aren't you supposed to be working, dad?" The 'fine young man' holding Temari's hand was no other than Shikadai.

The words Shikamaru heard today kept echoing in his mind, as he tried to comprehend this whole mess.

"A date?!"

"A date." Both mother and son said it together in a same voice with the same expression on their faces. Everyone said that Shikadai resembled his father a lot, but definitely not right now.

"Ha?"

"What did you expect, dad? Being away all the time." Shikadai was still a kid, but already mastered one of those 'are you an idiot' expressions Temari would have. He turned to his mom. "Dad's jealous face looks kind of cool."

"So you've noticed it too." It might have been just because of the fireworks, but Shikamaru could swear that her eyes were shining with excitement.

"So this is why?.." he asked.

"Of course." Again, both of them. Same face, same words, same satisfied smile.

"What the hell..."

"Come here, it'll be over soon!" Temari pulled him closer.

His tired brain still couldn't fully comprehend what this was all about. The scheme implemented that perfectly couldn't be one of Shikadai's doing, not yet anyways. He didn't have this skill to manipulate people that they wouldn't even notice it. He is still too young for that. It must be all Temari's doing. But she usually never interferes with his work. Shikamaru recalled what he was thinking before Ino budged into his office, and looked again at his wife.

'She wouldn't possibly know, would she?'

After all these years when Shikamaru thought that he already figured her out, she'd still manage to surprise him like that and show an expression he's never seen before. After all this time, still…

Challenging.

Yeah, that would be the right word.

Even this little brat who claimed to be afraid of her decided to play along.

'What's the deal with this anniversary anyway?' Shikamaru thought looking at his wife. 'So is it even important after all?'

To go to such lengths and even win the sympathy of Hidden Leaf's female population… for what? She'll never say nor admit doing any of it.

At least one thing was worth asking directly…

"Temari, are you angry?" He finally said it. "About the anniversary?"

"Of course not." Straightforward as usual. "I don't really care about it."

"Then why?.."

She and Shikadai exchanged same understanding looks.

"It seemed fun!" Now Shikamaru knew for sure that those green eyes could shine with this much joy. For both of them, of course.

'What a drag...' he thought, actually feeling happy.

* * *

"Sorry, I'm late!"

"What took you so long?" Inojin could hardly hide his excitement today. "The fireworks are almost over!"

"There was something I absolutely needed to do." Ino still had that content smile on her face as if she singlehandedly defeated all the Akatsuki members tonight.

* * *

'I wonder, if I didn't say anything unnecessary...' Hinata wondered. Seeing Shikamaru during the festival was definitely unexpected. Then, maybe...

"Hey, Hinata." He actually was here.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

"Taking a break."

"Dad!" Himawari jumped to hug him. "Guess what, I had a date today!"

Hinata saw her husband's face stiffen.

"Huh? With whom?"

"Oniichan!"

"Where do you even know that word from?"

"Shika-nii-chan!"

* * *

"Look, papa, that one is just like a chicken leg!"

"And those look like dumplings!"

"That one is pizza!"

"Here comes the hamburger!"

That wasn't your ordinary fireworks viewing method.

"How about that one?" Karui asked.

"That one is definitely..." Chouji started.

"Yup, definitely..." ChouChou agreed.

"Potato chips!" The father and daughter exclaimed together.

'Figures.' Thought Karui. 'I hope they won't feel like celebrating rare flavor chips eating anniversary this week again...'

* * *

"Mama, why didn't you tell him?" Asked Sarada as they watched fireworks fly up and bloom in the skies.

"Sarada," it was the same calm polite tone of voice in which she spoke to Lord Hokage's advisor. "When you grow up, get married and your husband will forget about your anniversary... you'll understand, why mama did this today."

In the bright colors of the fireworks it was impossible to see a single bird in the sky. The hawk circled down and landed on Sakura's shoulder. She hesitantly reached for the letter.

"It's been two months, you moron!" She whispered in a plain fury. "It's not even OUR anniversary today!"

Only a miracle held her back from destroying the whole place.

* * *

'Anniversaries are fun!' Thought Shikadai on their way home. 'Hmm, how can we surprise dad next year?'

* * *

 **Author's note:** Love this feeling when I can actually write down the idea that was bugging me for weeks. This was actually the original one that I've planned for 'Moments' extra chapter, but somehow couldn't come up with a decent story. Should I mention that the original idea was a bit sad? But I like funny version better! I love the girl cooperation team! I love those sadistic boys! And I definitely love this story!

There are two types of girls in this world. The one who'd celebrate 'three years four month and two days since we've first met' and those who'd think 'oh, a week ago was our anniversary, I totally forgot', haha. I do believe Temari and Karui belong to the second one, haha. Actually I kind of liked Karui here. Makes me want to write some more.

It's somehow hard to write from Shikadai's point of view. Probably because his character is still to develop in the series. ChouChou's BS is also kind of hard, haha. But I do like her. She makes the whole story more interesting, hehe.

I wonder why is that family fluff is kind of hard for me to write? I feel natural writing angst and romance though… But it's hard to sound poetic recently... have to keep reminding myself about that...

* - refers to the Chapter 7 of the 'Moments' series.

Be updated!


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